con·tem·po·rar·y - Modern times in its generic sense, living, occurring, or existing, at the same time; often also used as a synonym for "modern"
Ma·lay·sia - A country of southeast Asia consisting of the southern Malay Peninsula and the northern part of the island of Borneo.

Please feel free to voice your opinion and ideas on how we can get rid of those illegal immigrants that have been infesting Sabah since the late 1970s, this issue have to be brought up in Parliament. Do hope that with 82 Pakatan Rakyats MP, we can make a difference this time! We are all Malaysians, be it West Malaysians or East Malaysians, or whatever race we are. Please do contribute! News from Daily Express Sabah.

PBS against granting IMM13 to Kuraman illegals

Kota Kinabalu: Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) has urged the Federal Government to re-consider its decision to relocate the 366 illegal immigrants and issue them with the IMM13 document at the so-called Immigration Estate in Kiansam, Labuan.

Its President Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, in questioning the move as announced by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, said since these people are illegal immigrants they should be deported.

"Steps must be taken to send them back. The existing laws should be fully used," he said, Monday.

The Deputy Chief Minister-cum-Rural Development Minister was commenting on the move announced after Nazri visited Labuan on Sunday.

Nazri was quoted as saying the IMM13 would be issued to the immigrants since they had been staying there since 1985 and it was the social responsibility of the Government to provide them with education and health facilities so that they could be employed.

However, Pairin said PBS was against the idea of handing them the IMM13 because what should be done is to deport them. According to Pairin, the action was tantamount to giving recognition and favourable attention to illegals rather than the locals.

"The Government should be giving attention to the locals and not the other way round as otherwise this is tantamount to action neglecting citizens.

"Therefore it is incumbent upon the Federal Government to take a stronger stance against the presence of illegal immigrants in the country, especially in Sabah," he said.

Pairin said it was hard for the people to accept the decision since they had been talking about the issue for umpteen years. "They would like to see resolutions rather than giving attention to the immigrants," he said.

Pairin said they should be dealt with like any illegal immigrant and repatriated so that their own government could take care of them and provide all the necessary facilities to help them get on with their lives.

PBS Supreme Council member Dr Chong Eng Leong said the Federal Government should consider taking the illegals in Sabah, who he estimated to number about one million, then "issue them with citizenship and register them as voters so that the BN can retain power in the peninsula."

He said if it was true that the people in Kuraman were illegal immigrants since 1985 then action should have been taken against them.

"Why keep them in Malaysia, costing us taxpayers’ money to shelter and feed them? Why not just repatriate them?" he asked.

"Why provide them with education when thousands of genuine Sabahan children in some rural areas cannot attend school due to lack of accessible schools?

"Why not build hostels in nearby schools for these rural children?," he suggested, pointing out that longhouses in the Kiansam Immigration Estate were built for the illegals. Dr Chong also asked the necessity for the Government to issue the immigrants with the IMM13 document and whether they are refugees.

"Are you going to grant them Permanent Residence (PR) status after having issued the IMM13 document as you had done so in Sabah, which was against the wishes of the State Government?" he asked.

GEORGE TOWN (April 23, 2008): Datuk Lee Kah Choon has quit Gerakan in reaction to the party's decision to issue him a show-cause letter for accepting the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state government's appointment as a director for InvestPenang and Penang Development Corporation (PDC).

Lee, who had quit as party's deputy secretary-general and other posts last month to take responsibility for the party's poor showing in the March 8 polls, termed his decision to withdraw his membership as "exorcising the political ghost".

The former Jelutong MP and health parliamentary secretary had lost in his bid for the Machang Bubok state seat. If he had won and the Barisan Nasional (BN) took Penang, he was among three people considered for the chief minister's post.

"This way, I hope we can put the matter to rest and move forward with some serious tasks at hand," Lee said in a press statement.

He also reiterated his stand of withdrawing from active politics to focus on serving the society as a citizen.

"My objective is clear and it has remained consistent throughout my political career, which is to serve the people. This is the reason I accepted the positions in both state investment agencies.

"I had announced earlier my decision to retire from active politics and to accept a non-political role to serve the socio-economic interest of Penang. My decision is motivated by the fact the Penang's interest cannot be compromised by any political consideration," he said.

He added that since his decision was not accepted by the Gerakan leadership, he felt it is best for him to retreat totally from party politics.

"I believe that due to the projected economic slowdown which may affect the state's export-oriented economic performance, the focus now should be on job creation and measures to ensure sustainable growth instead of continuous politicking," he said.

On acting Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon's criticisms that Lee lacks experience in promoting investment in the manufacturing industry, Lee said the criticism was inaccurate.

"My professional and service record speaks for itself and if any, the criticism drives me to achieve more for Penang."

On Sunday (April 20), Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's announcement of Lee's appointment as a PDC director and InvestPenang executive chairman created a stir with BN leaders lashing out at Lee.

Gerakan adviser Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik had said Lee made a wrong move and "pitied" Lee as he had a difficult job ahead of him while Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Lee should not have accepted the posts as it was not a normal practice for BN to work with the Opposition.

Mr. SM Mohamed Idris, President, Consumers Association of Penang, mentioned in a letter to Malaysiakini that what Penang needs is not a 2nd bridge, 3rd bridge, 4th bridge and so on but a better public transportation to solve the massive jams and never-ending cars flooding the state. His words hold truth as Penang is jammed with public cars where the private vehicle ownership to the population is almost one to one. (The Star).

Recent developments also focused on building the monorail through the inner city of Georgetown, and also the PORR (Penang Outer Ring Road ) to solve the traffic problems, but words have it that it are more likely to benefits certain groups of people than the Penangites. (Aliran)

But according to Australian tram engineer Ric Francis, author of Penang Trams, Trolleybuses and Railways, estimates that half of the old tram tracks could be dug out and re-used. One tram could keep 55 cars off the road, he says. Plus it will conserve our fuel, reduce pollution and complement the new public bus service, Rapid Penang.

Moreover, trams that blend with the old-world architecture of George Town will surely enhance the heritage value of the inner city, which has the largest collection of pre-war shop houses in South-East Asia. (Source)

Penangites do hope that the Penang State Government under the leadership of Chief Minister Mr. Lim Guan Eng will make a wish decision though.

It's the time of the year where Sabah is thrusted into a major blackout again, where everytime whenever it rains, there will surely be a blackout. Have a good reading of the news article below taken from here. While The Star said that it’s caused by vandalisms, one thing for sure, it’s done by the illegal immigrants. So next time when there’s a blackout in West Malaysia, do think of Sabahans’ who are much more pity and have to endure frequent blackouts whole year long.

Tower collapse causes major blackout

Kuala Lumpur: The major blackout in many parts of Sabah Monday night was due to an electrical tower collapse in Inaman. This caused a power trip at the Sepanggar power plant, said Energy and Communications Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor.

He said Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) and the Energy Commission had already been instructed to carry out a thorough investigation on the matter.

A preliminary report he received revealed that there was heavy rain at the time of the incident, he said in a telephone interview from Italy.

The Sepanggar power plant has a capacity of 100 megawatt, but the disruption caused a power shortage in Sabah as peak demand in the state stood at 560 megawatt.

Almost all major towns in the western and eastern parts of Sabah were affected by the outage.

Some two million people were affected with businesses complaining of losses as they were forced to close early.

Power tripped at about 6.40pm, affecting all but Labuan, Beaufort, Telupid and Sipitang. It was being restored in stages by 7.15pm when the 132KV line tripped again, putting the situation back to square one.

However, a SESB official said power was restored to half the affected areas by 9.38pm.

Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) Managing Director, Baharin Din told the Daily Express the Sepanggar IPP (Independent Power Producer) was directly linked to the East Coast, thus also affecting the districts there. He apologised on behalf of SESB for the inconvenience caused.

Residents from here, Penampang, Kota Marudu, Kudat, Kota Belud, Keningau, Sandakan, Tawau, Lahad Datu and Kunak, called up the newspaper to complain that power tripped at about 7pm.

Musa said he was made to understand that the blackout was due to a power drag at the Sepanggar plant. One shopowner in a shopping complex said he was forced to close before 8pm instead of the usual 10pm while restaurants had to rely on candles.

In TAWAU, an exposed high-tension wire in front of Wisma Rastamas caused a more-than-four-hour blackout, especially along Mile 31/2 and Mile 4, Monday.

A Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) spokesperson said a small explosion occurred after the exposed wire came in contact with rainwater at about 8am.

The spokesperson said SESB technicians found the sheath had been worn out, adding they fixed the problem at about 12.30pm.

Tawau MP Datuk Chua Soon Bui urged the public to contact the authorities especially SESB in the event of cable thefts or blackouts at its toll-free number 15454 or office at 089-775288.

This is the news I got from Malaysiakini, where Tian Chua is charged for trying to hand over a memorandum protesting against the extension of the Election Commission’s chairperson Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman’s tenure. And below is the video showing what happened on that fateful day, well I think that a person can be charged in court for biting a cop is simply unbelievable, it is like the rules can be bent to suite those that Walk in the Corridors of Power. This is what happens when they are too strong.

Do judge for yourself who is acting like thugs, they have no respect for normal citizens of Malaysia! Is this the way to treat a human being?

My greatest admirations and thank you to MP Tian Chua of Batu, the “Freedom Fighter” of Malaysia, for fighting endlessly for Malaysians!!!

I just stumbled upon a news article regarding a new “blogger on the block” ,that is the MP for Kota Belud, at here. Do have a read of the article as per below:

Kota Belud MP sets up his blog site

Kota Belud: Member of Parliament Datuk Rahman Dahlan has set up his blog site to provide the people, especially the electorates the latest information in the constituency quickly and effectively.

He said the blogsite www.mpkotabelud.blogspot.com that was recently launched could be accessed at anytime by anyone interested to find out the elected representative's activities.

"I am of the opinion that with the setting up of the blog it would make it easier for anyone particularly those from the district to know the activities of their elected representative," he said after visiting a rubber plantation at Kampung Taginambur here.

According to him, previously the people would rely on the print and electronic media to find information but now people have the tendency to surf the internet to look for information quickly.

Rahman said that through the blog the people could also provide feedback by providing constructive comments but not racial and sensitive to religions.

Hmm let’s have a look at the blog of this MP from UMNO, haiyoh first impression is, why must YB write in Bahasa Malaysia? I know I know, BM is the official language of Malaysia, but at least YB can write it in an international language so that readers form all over the world can have a look bah. Who knows, maybe YB just wants Malaysians to read his blog, go figure.

But if I were to refer to an article here, former Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin mentioned that those who blogs are consider “goblok” or stupid!! And most are educated overseas. Firstly YB, are you meaning to say that bloggers must be educated overseas, and then only they can blog, in this case I think Malaysians who are locally educated and who blog can be termed as what then? Pem-blog?

And if we hold to what YB Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin said, then all the BN MPs and State Assemblymen who just started to blog after the 12th General Election are all bodohs?? Luckily or sadly, whichever you readers prefer, he lost the election, or else I think he have to eat back his words. Or maybe they will just say, “I have been misinterpreted”, typical lah.

Before we end, let’s have a look at who is this MP of Kota Belud, Dato' Abdul Rahman Dahlan. His profile can be found here, he graduated with Bachelors in Economics and Management, Sonoma State University (SSU), California State University System, Rohnert Park, California, USA and is married with Datin Norazlina Awang Had, and have 2 children. He is also the former Independent Non-Executive Director to Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas). No bad though.

Below is the letter from a Sabahan, in the letter he stated the reasons BN won in Sabah is due to foreigners who gained MyKads through the notorious Project ICs, or better known as Project M. Read the letter as taken from here

Sabah BN won due to foreigners by Tanak Wagu

Some people especially in West Malaysia might think that the majority of Sabahans voted for the Barisan Nasional (BN) in the recent elections. In case the victorious Sabahan BN candidates decide to brag about the support they received, I would like to remind them that many of them would have lost if not for foreigners holding the Project MMyKads (fraudulently issued Malaysian identity cards).

By now the children of these foreigners would also have MyKads and the number of foreigners would have tripled or even quadrupled. Some sources say that in the Papar parliamentary constituency, the Filipino refugee settlement alone is enough to ensure victory for the BN candidate.

It is also surprising that the Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) - which was once very vocal on the issue of foreign voters - is very quiet about it this time. There were many Project M holders voting in many constituencies including in constituencies PBS contested. In some polling stations, the number of Project M holders far exceeded that of the local voters.

It is a well known fact here in Sabah that the Project M holders only vote for the BN symbol. The BN had helped them acquire their MyKads and also allowed them to work and operate businesses in the state. Their settlements abound in Sabah, and even if the government demolishes them, they would be compensated with alternative housing, an option not available to local squatters as in the Kampung Matabian and Paitan cases.

Just wait outside the Centre Point building in Kota Kinabalu and read the names on the red and white taxis. These names belong to a single ethnic community from neighbouring Indonesia. And stand closer to them and listen to their conversations.You will hear a foreign accent.

The Consumer Association of Sabah (Cash) lodged a police report on the Project M in 2006 yet until today no action has been taken. For those of you who do not have background knowledge on Project M, please know that these MyKads were issued between the early 1980s right up to 1999. Whether any new ones were issued after that only God knows.

The original intention of the Project M was to increase the Muslim population with a view to ensure that only Muslims could form the government in Sabah and only a Muslim could be chief minister in Sabah. Thousands and thousands of illegal immigrants from both the Philippines and Indonesia flooded the state, both Muslims and non-Muslims. Even the non-Muslims took up Muslim names to gain these MyKads.

In the end it seems that these people have exceeded the local population. Some believe that these immigrants actually outnumber local Muslims. It is no longer a matter of religion. It is now a matter of local identity. It is also a matter of unfair competition for locals who rely on the bumiputera quota for studies, work or business as they have to compete with these new arrivals. It is also unfair as government funds are also used for the education, health and other amenities these Project M holders need.

The funny thing is that many of these Project M MyKad holders are known to travel frequently to their homeland and some are even reported to still cling to international passports issued by their home countries. Some even go to their home countries to get international passports which it seems is much cheaper than a Malaysian one.

Recently someone said that former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad should be charged for interfering with the judiciary. I say he should also be charged because the Project M was during his reign.

Former Chief Minister Harris Salleh (and former Home Minister Megat Junid Megat Ayub, now deceased) should also be charged. PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim, meanwhile, should reveal whatever he knows about the Project M if he expects Sabahans to really trust him.

I am sure Sabahans are forgiving as long as Anwar is honest and is willing to get rid of Project M holders once and for all.

Well well well, the problems of illegal immigrants flooding Sabah has been going on for a long time, right from the time USNO ruled and was accelerated tremendously during the PBS era when it was in the opposition from the year 1990-1994. Who else was responsible for this, well your guess was good as my guess.

And for a person like Yours Truly who has been staying in Sabah for quite some time, I can say that the problem of PTIs (Pendatang Asing Tanpa Izin) - Illegal immigrants is and are alive as well.

Just ask any locals (Pure Sabahans I mean) and they will not hesitate to point out to you where you can find these PTIs, if in KK (Kota Kinabalu), its rampant around the Centre Point shopping complex, leading all the way from Segama and not to mention the notorious Filipino Market and also the Pulau Gaya nearby. In fact I have even seen the DBKK (Dewan Bandaraya Kota Kinabalu) City Councils enforcements carrying M-16s (Yes M-16 Guns!!) while doing some night time routine checks. You can imagine how dangerous it is at night in KK.